Sit Investment Associates Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 29.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,940 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $5,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,410,000 after purchasing an additional 23,223 shares during the period. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC now owns 63,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,482,000 after acquiring an additional 19,870 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 358.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 30,420 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the fourth quarter worth about $4,066,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NVO shares. UBS Group upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NVO opened at $62.58 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.50. The stock has a market cap of $280.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $62.37 and a 12-month high of $148.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. As a group, research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.